Digital Commons Network^™

From Home To Abroad: The Intergenerational Impact Of Household Member Migration On Women’S Economic & Social Empowerment In Egypt, Menna Elgohary

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates to what extent the migration of a household member to an Arab country leads to increased social and economic empowerment among Egyptian women of two age categories (15-35 and +35) over two waves. Determined through Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of panel data from Egypt Labor Market Panel Surveys in 2018 and 2023, composite indices of social and economic empowerment serve as dependent variables in an IV 2SLS regression model. The model assesses whether household member migration, proxied by migration prevalence on the district (qism) level as an IV, causes a significant increase in social and economic empowerment …

The Effect Of China’S Universal Two-Child Policy On Female Employment: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Labor Market Outcomes, Sijia Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the effects of China's Universal Two-Child Policy, enacted in 2016, on women's employment outcomes. The implementation of this policy has highlighted the challenges women face in the labor market, revealing a significant disparity between the policy's effects and expectations, as evidenced by the simultaneous occurrence of low fertility intentions and employment difficulties. This research employs a mixed methodology to systematically evaluate the policy's effects on the quality and stability of women's employment while also investigating the underlying mechanisms of this impact. The research indicates that the Universal Two-Child Policy adversely affects women's employment performance in multiple dimensions. …

Discretion, Deference, And Dysfunction: U.S. Refugee Resettlement From Egypt, Cassandra Mcclellan

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates refugee resettlement from Egypt to the U.S., as facilitated by UNHCR Egypt and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Accordingly, the research questions ask what factors determine the volume and profile of refugees UNHCR Egypt submits to USRAP for resettlement, as well as the related determining factors for refugees rejected from and accepted to USRAP. A fourth research question examines the impacts of U.S. refugee policy on the resettlement system in Egypt, including on UNHCR Egypt and refugees. To answer these questions, the thesis first delves into the history of U.S. immigration and refugee policies, with a …

Learning From Experience: What Is Successful Respite During And Post-Pandemic?, Jennifer A. Crittenden, Darlene Sansone, Kristina Brant, Jennifer Odum, Caitlin O'Brien, Lisa Mccormick

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The COVID-19 pandemic had immediate and long-lasting impacts on both kinship families and the organizations that serve them. During the pandemic, as families navigated health challenges, economic consequences, and school and daycare closures, relatives as parents programs (RAPPs) were challenged to surmount staffing and programming hurdles to meet family needs. Despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, RAPPs developed creative solutions to offer respite programming. Some of these programs continue to be used today, over four years after the start of the pandemic. This article describes the presentations and discussions that took place during a 90-minute workshop at the 2023 …

How Do Gender And Marital Status Impact High-Risk Polysubstance Use?, Kira England, Alexander Chapman

Population Health Research Brief Series

Drug overdose deaths in the United States increasingly include the use of multiple drugs, known as polysubstance use. These include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, tranquilizers, and sedatives. Polysubstance use is considered high risk because it can cause dangerous synergistic effects and result in the ingestion of higher amounts of drugs. This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health on U.S. adults from 2002 through 2019 to examine gender and marital status differences in high-risk polysubstance use among U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The authors find that polysubstance use is …

Podcasting Towards Togetherness: Utilizing Podcasts To Improve Departmental Camaraderie And Well-Being, Michael Petrauskis, Colleen Gutman, Rosemarie Fernandez

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Physician burnout is on the rise, and this is of particular concern in emergency medicine. Burnout is associated with medical errors, adverse events, poor professionalism, and litigation. A sense of community can build engagement and mitigate workplace stressors on well-being. Emergency physicians may have trouble connecting due to the nature of shift-work and various practice settings. Communication technology, and particularly podcasting, has the potential to help overcome these barriers and positively impact relatedness and well-being.

Approach: We developed an inward-facing podcast, “The ER Break Room” within the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida. Through the …

Reach And Utility Of The New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program, Harshita Sarup, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

In this primer, authors Harshita Sarup and Jess Carson describe the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program after recent policy changes. The authors find that while an estimated 55,000 children are eligible, only 7 to 8 percent are enrolled. Scholarships can represent significant savings for families, particularly with multiple children, although reimbursement rates can leave gaps for providers. The authors conclude by discussing some potential strategies for increasing the reach and efficacy of the program.

Religion And Attitudes Toward Xenotransplantation: Results Of A Nationwide Survey In The United States., Daniel J Hurst, Luz A Padilla, Amanda Zink, Brendan Parent, Laura L Kimberly

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Religious viewpoints have been shown to influence the ways in which many persons approach medical decision-making and have been noted as a potential barrier to xenotransplantation acceptance. This study sought to explore how attitudes toward xenotransplantation differ among various religious beliefs. A national Likert-scale survey was conducted in 2023 with a representative sample in the United States. Religious belief was self-reported. Regression analysis was used to identify associations with religious belief and hesitations about xenotransplantation. Five thousand and eight individuals across the United States responded to the survey. The two biggest concerns about xenotransplantation across religious groups were the current …

Navigating Gender Dynamics And Identity Formation In Online Mutual Support Communities: Insights From Participant Experiences, Naishuo Sun

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven individuals to seek support through online mutual support groups, which provide spaces for knowledge exchange, social support, and crisis management. While these groups are known to benefit mental health, little is understood about how gender shapes interactions and identity formation within them. This study explores gender dynamics, communication styles, and identity formation in online support groups during the pandemic, focusing on their role in challenging traditional gender norms and fostering inclusivity.

Two focus groups and three semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Chinese adults (9 female, 4 male) aged 24 to 38 in the U.S. …

Resilience, Joshua Liashenko

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Once a ubiquitous framework for assessing the capacity for recovery, perseverance, and success in the face of adversity, resilience has been met with growing critiques in its application. As a frequently used “pretty word” within health disparities research, resilience has come to signify how at-risk communities overcome hardship in ways this work argues overdetermine their labor, activist potential, and existence. This critique examines resilience through the lens of ethnographic research conducted among transgender and nonbinary healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care within their communities. As a marginalized community experiencing transphobia and increasing structural barriers to life-affirming and life-saving healthcare, trans …

Breaking Boundaries: A Critical Trans Framework Analysis Of Anti-Transgender Sports Policies In Education, Tori Porter, Briana A. Savage, Dresden June Frazier

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This policy analysis examines the impacts of anti-transgender sports legislation on K-20 transgender students through a critical trans framework. We investigate how anti-transgender laws enforce gender norms and intersect with other forms of oppression, such as racism and ableism, affecting multi-marginalized transgender students in sports and limiting access to a well-rounded education. Epistemic injustice is revealed, as these policies disregard transgender students' experiential knowledge and involvement in decision-making processes. Findings indicate that anti-transgender sports policies impact students at individual, institutional, and cultural levels, perpetuating discriminatory practices and reducing access to gender-affirming spaces and supportive adults. We argue for inclusive, evidence-based …

Enhancing Learning In The Uae: Exploring Chatgpt As A More Knowledgeable Other (Mko) In Science And Non-Science Courses In The Uae, Nagaletchimee Annamalai, S. Abdellatif, Gaforov Ikboljon Uktamovich, Bilal Mohammed Zakarneh

The Qualitative Report

This study examines the role of ChatGPT as a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) in educational settings, encompassing both scientific and non-scientific courses. A qualitative case study involved 20 educators from higher education institutions. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews, and the collected data was subsequently analysed using the thematic analysis suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006). The findings emphasize the significance of validating educational resources and maintaining control over their usage to mitigate issues related to plagiarism and uphold academic integrity. ChatGPT serves as an MKO by guiding learners in enhancing their technical writing skills and aiding in information …

Framework, Design, And Baseline Data Of A Collective Impact Initiative To Strengthen The Community Health Worker Workforce Ecosystem In Texas, Shreela V Sharma, Heidi Hagen Mcpherson, Jemima John, Rosalia Guerrero, Sisan B Tennyson, Deborah Banerjee, Nadia Siddiqui, Sheila Savannah, Peter Durand, Amanda Gao, Sean A Haley, Elisa Garcia, Jennifer Cofer, Adrick Harris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The Health Equity Collective (HEC), a multi-sector systems-level collective impact coalition in the Greater Houston region, partnered with the City of Houston Health Department (HHD) to launch a 2-year effort to implement a comprehensive approach towards strengthening the regional Community Health Workers (CHW) workforce infrastructure as a pathway to advancing health equity. Our paper presents the logic model, methods, and baseline qualitative and quantitative data from this initiative.

METHODS: In the fall of 2022, the Health Equity Collective brought together a Network of CHW-employing or training organizations in the Greater Houston region. This Network was the working group of …

Clark Moustakas’ Husserl, Thomas Byrne

The Qualitative Report

This paper critically examines Clark Moustakas’s presentation of Husserl in Phenomenological Research Methods. I argue that Moustakas’s account misrepresents two core elements of Husserl’s phenomenology – intentionality and the transcendental reduction – in ways that directly compromise the foundations of qualitative phenomenological research. First, Moustakas treats intentional meaning as something private, located within the individual, rather than as given in the world. This misreading severs the connection between experience and a shared world of meaning, leaving qualitative researchers unable to clarify participants’ accounts beyond private expression. Second, Moustakas reduces the transcendental reduction to introspective reflection, overlooking its function as a …

“It’S A Constant Wear And Tear”: Trans Visibility As Educational Labour In The Neoliberal School, Bishop Owis, Harper Keenan, Lee Iskander, Mario I. Suárez, Mollie Mcquillan, Christina Cook, Daniel Gallardo

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

Although transgender people are increasingly visible in mainstream North America, trans teachers are without adequate resources or protections to support their employment in schools. Legislation in both Canada and the United States that invokes concern about parental rights and “LGBT indoctrination” in schools illustrate the dangerous political landscape facing teachers. In 2023, over 500 anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) bills were introduced in state legislatures across the United States (Choi, 2024). Given this context, this paper explores trans education workers’ descriptions of trans visibility in the workplace. Drawing from interviews from the Trans Workers in Schools Project (TWISP), we …

Mapping The Perceived Impacts Of A Social Innovation Program On Women’S Agency And Life Satisfaction, Dina Tbaishat, Lina Qtaishat, Jannik Joseph Eggerman, Catherine Panter-Brick, Rana Dajani

All Works

Introduction Cross-cultural research measuring how women perceive their sense of agency and catalyze social innovation has been limited. We conducted a mixed-methods study to learn about women's agency and life satisfaction, while evaluating the perceived benefits of a social innovation program (We Love Reading), in the UAE which, in 2022, launched a nationwide reading promotion strategy.Methods and results We implemented the Sense of Agency (SoA) scale and Cantril Ladder of Life Scale with a sample of 78 female Emirati students, then conducted two Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) sessions with 13 respondents. The FCM sessions helped to develop local definitions of …

Architecting A More Gender-Inclusive Curriculum For Graduate Leadership Education, Galen J. Talis

Libraries

Graduate leadership education is an important context for increasing gender-inclusivity. Incoming students are increasingly likely to support an all-gender approach; transgender and nonbinary graduate students report safety concerns on campus; and leadership scholars have identified serious discrimination against trans and nonbinary employees in the workplace as well as the need for greater gender-inclusivity in leadership education. Cis women and men are more widely recognized as gender-diverse, whether due to intersections with other identities or due to within-gender complexity. Yet researchers often fail to identify a gender theory when researching gender and leadership, most commonly assume a gender-binary frame, and do …

Fostering Inclusivity Through Community Arts Programs, Courtney Mayberry

CAFE Symposium 2025

The utilization of community arts projects to build diverse and prosperous communities is vital in fostering inclusion rather than isolation within participating communities. Community arts projects can be built to offer individuals a means to connect with their community through self-expression and the celebration of their individuality. This is especially important in giving marginalized groups a voice, such as people with disabilities.

Book Review Of Relinquished: The Politics Of Adoption And The Privilege Of American Motherhood By Gretchen Sisson. New York: St. Martin’S Press. 2024., Emily Stier Adler, Michele Hoffnung

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Marginalized, Secularized, And Popularized? The Prevalence And Patterns Of Paranormal Belief In The United Kingdom, Tom Clark, Joseph O. Baker, Christoper D. Bader

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

There is growing recognition of the prevalence of paranormal beliefs in Western countries. However, most of this interest has been focused on the United States and robust, comparative data remain limited. This study extends this literature to report findings from a national survey of the United Kingdom designed to assess the prevalence and patterns of paranormal beliefs. Although there are many similarities to previous research, the results also suggest that there are significant differences in the scope, clustering, and patterns of paranormalism across contexts. The study makes four contributions to research on the paranormal by a) reiterating the continuing popularity …

A Critical Appraisal Of Poverty In The Context Of Nature-Based Communities: Selected Cases From The Philippines, Carla Edith Gonzales Jimena

Dissertations and Theses

The Philippines is considered one of the wealthiest countries in both Southeast Asia and the world when measured by biodiversity, mineral resources and natural resources. It is also one of the most highly mineralized countries on earth. However, despite these natural endowments, when measured by established economic and human development indices the Philippines remains poor. Using critical perspectives derived from Marxist tradition, William Chambliss' theory of law and its dialectical nature, Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems Theory, and Fred Block's structural mechanism of the state, this study aimed to critically appraise the persistence of poverty in nature-based communities in the Philippines. …

Experiencing The First Year Of Covid-19 Pandemic: Feelings And Thoughts Of Emerging Adults, Miljana Spasić Šnele Phd, Ivana Janković Phd, Jelisaveta Todorović Phd

The Qualitative Report

COVID-19 brought many changes in the daily functioning of many individuals, including emerging adults, due to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and the closure of public institutions, thus representing a threat to physical and mental health. We investigated how emerging adults felt regarding their experience during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were also interested in what they had been thinking about in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic one year after its declaration. To answer these questions, we conducted a qualitative study. The participants included 51 students aged 19 to 28 years old. Conducting thematic analysis six themes related …

Community Safety Investments: Violence Prevention Initiatives Across New York State, Rebecca Balletto, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado, Justice D. Evans, Gina Moreno, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Kathleen A. Tomberg, Michael Rempel, René Ropac

Publications and Research

At the request of New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice conducted an assessment of over a decade of state-funded violence prevention initiatives implemented at the county level. Beginning in 2010 and expanding significantly after 2021, these initiatives were adopted by nearly two dozen counties by 2014. Research teams from the Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) and the Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ) analyzed county-level trends in serious and violent crime between 2010 and 2023 to assess the potential impact of these investments on community safety outcomes. The study aimed …

The Disinformation Vaccine: A Case For Integrating Comprehensive Disinformation Education Into First Year Writing Classes, Benjamin F. Jackson

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Students’ exposure to disinformation and misinformation is far greater than it has ever been. As the ability of generative AI to produce image, video, and audio deepfakes grows more sophisticated, disinformation will become even easier to spread and harder to detect. The rapid spread of social, political, scientific, and medical disinformation has been deadly and its potential is disastrous. Security experts now warn that dis/misinformation is the greatest threat to national security. Americans at large and students in particular have a demonstrated lack of information literacy when it comes to detecting false information, and bad actors nationally and globally are …

Inclusive Space For Everyone Door Sign (Printable 8.5 X 11 Inch), Joan H. Robinson

Open Educational Resources

This is a printable 8.5 x 11 inch door sign for faculty, staff, and administrators to let people know it is an inclusive space for everyone. For improved visibility, print with a color printer and cut along the dotted line.

See also: 11 x 17 inch door sign.

Bridging The Gap: Analyzing Volunteerism Barriers To The International Humanitarian Ngos In Egypt, Heba Fouad

Theses and Dissertations

In Egypt, volunteerism, within international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), functions in distinctive characteristics influenced by, among other things, cultural, educational, and economic factors. NGOs face challenges and obstacles in attracting motivated volunteers, engaging and training volunteers, as well as managing the staff-volunteers relationship, and implementing adequate human resources (HR) policies and strategies. In this context, this thesis seeks to bridge the knowledge gap of volunteerism challenges in Egypt, delving deep into understanding the barriers existing within the international humanitarian NGOs that directly and indirectly influence its volunteer engagement levels. The thesis also aims to understand the successful implementation of policies …

Investigating Mental Health Disparities In Rural Sexual And Gender Minority Adults: Protocol For The Rural Exploration And Approaches To Lgbtq + Mental Health (Realm) Prospective Cohort Study, Shoshanna L. Fine, Kalai Willis, Iaah L. Lucas, Kirsten F. Siebach, Jennifer L. Glick, Mariah Valentine-Graves, Savannah Winter, Michael Smith, Thomas Waltz, Gina Bailey Herring, Marissa Hannah, Holly C. Wilcox, Travis Sanchez, Stefan D. Baral, Sarah M. Murray

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) persons experience substantial mental health disparities throughout the life course, including increased vulnerability to depression and suicide. Few existing studies, however, have explored how pervasive experiences of SGM-related stigma, discrimination, and trauma (i.e., minority stress) contribute to adverse mental health outcomes among diverse sub-populations of SGM adults living in rural areas of the United States. This paper describes the protocol for a prospective cohort study, "Rural Exploration and Approaches for LGBTQ + Mental Health (REALM)," that will explore minority stress in relation to mental health conditions and suicidal behaviors among rural SGM adults. METHODS: …

The Effects Of The Devaluation Of The Egyptian Pound On Auc Student Happiness, Mariam Kharboush, Nour Dabbour, Nelly Abdelwahed, Nour Heikal

The Undergraduate Research Journal

The aim of this research is to investigate the difference in measured happiness between students who pay the full tuition cost at the American University in Cairo (AUC) versus students who are on financial aid/scholarship in light of the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound. The literature review found that there are five key determinants for the happiness of university students: financial satisfaction, academic performance, leisure time, social support, and high levels of self-confidence and esteem. These five factors were used in the conceptual framework along with the utility theory. This study was executed through an online Google Forms survey that …

Analyzing The Impact Of Societal Perceptions Of Honor On Women's Involvement In The 1919 Revolution And The 2011 Revolution: A Comparative Study, Haya Shalaby

The Undergraduate Research Journal

Women have always been a part of the political sphere, visibly so or not. It was when they started getting more seen in the streets and protests that issues began to rise. The main factor behind that is honor, a complicated and multilayered subject, especially in the Middle East. The way it has been defined, at every point in time, relies on political and religious motives, with the ultimate goal of restricting and controlling the lives of women and their involvement in powerful, fundamental changes. Society perceives honor through its relation to biased religious perceptions, therefore, we find that public …

Beyond Pink And Plastic: A Critical Analysis Of Barbie (2023) Through The Lens Of Gender Performativity, Intersectionality, And Diverse Cultural Perspectives, Nelly K. Abdelwahed

The Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper critically examines Barbie (2023), directed by Greta Gerwig, through the frameworks of Judith Butler’s gender performativity and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality. By analyzing qualitative data from interviews with Egyptian university students, the study explores how the film challenges traditional gender norms while addressing its polarizing reception globally. While Barbie (2023) succeeds in sparking conversations about gender, identity, and societal expectations, its Western-centric narrative limits its resonance with non-Western audiences, particularly in the Middle East. The findings reveal a dichotomy: the film effectively critiques systemic inequalities and empowers women but simultaneously overlooks intersectional and diverse lived experiences. This analysis highlights …